Paul Ingrassia, White House liaison to the Justice Department (left), on January 20 in Washington, D.C.
Photo: Pete Kiehart for The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Nazi stories just keep coming.
Last week, Politico reported on the existence of a Young Republicans Telegram group teeming with racist jokes and remarks, prompting almost universal condemnation on both sides of the aisle and job losses for many of the leaders involved. Days later, an American flag with a swastika was spotted in the office of a Republican congressman, prompting calls to the U.S. Capitol Police.
On Monday, Politico reported on a new series of racist texts, this time courtesy of Paul Ingrassia, President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Office of the Special Counsel. In one message sent in January 2024, Ingrassia wrote that “MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs.”
Ingrassia had also disparaged Martin Luther King Jr. Day and other holidays in a text sent a month earlier, using an Italian slur for Black people: “No moulignon holidays … From kwanza [sic] to mlk jr day to black history month to Juneteenth,” he wrote. “Every single one needs to be eviscerated.”
According to Politico, which viewed the entire text chain, Ingrassia insulted Indian and Chinese people as well and used a slur in a 2024 exchange, writing, “Never trust a chinaman or Indian” in apparent reference to then–presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in one exchange, an unnamed participant in the chat said of Ingrassia’s criticism of a Trump staffer, “Paul belongs in the Hitler Youth with Ubergruppenfuhrer Steve Bannon.”
“I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it,” Ingrassia responded, which Politico reports prompted pushback in the chat.
Ingrassia is no stranger to controversy. His initial appearance before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee was meant to take place in July but was postponed in part over concerns about his associations with far-right figures like Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes. Ingrassia, who is currently serving as the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, was also recently the subject of a sexual-harassment investigation. A woman who had traveled with Ingrassia on a work trip alleged that he canceled her hotel room so that she would be forced to share a room with him. The woman later withdrew her complaint, and Ingrassia has denied any wrongdoing.
Ingrassia’s Senate confirmation hearing is set for Thursday, but his nomination might already be in trouble. HuffPost reports that Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who is on the committee, is calling for Ingrassia’s name to be pulled.
